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Saturday, February 21, 2015

Canadian Man Charged with Trafficking Dinosaur Fossils from China

A man has been arrested in Arizona for allegedly trying to
sell dinosaur fossils imported from China to undercover federal agents. Jun
Yang, a Canadian, faces criminal charges of archaeological smuggling and
wildlife trafficking.

The charges, initiated by U.S. Homeland Security
Investigations (HSI), likely will be challenged by defense lawyers because of
legal irregularities.

Filed on Tuesday in federal district court
(15-mj-07055), the complaint alleges that the defendant

did fraudulently and knowingly offer for sale and sell
merchandise, namely one Psittacosaurus fossil and approximately 15
Hadrosaur fossil eggs, after the merchandises' importation into the United
States, knowing said merchandise had been imported into the United States contrary to law; that is,
... Jun Yang knowingly sold said merchandise knowing that they are cultural
property that had been imported into the United States from the People's
Republic of China contrary to law, that is specially protected fossils are
prohibited from being sold to any
foreigner or foreign organization, all in violation of Title 19, United
States Code Section 2606(a) [the Cultural Property Implementation
Act (CPIA)] and Title 18 United States
Code Section 545 [the anti-smuggling law].
...
[and] did unlawfully and knowingly import in foreign
commerce, transport, receive and acquire any wildlife, that is one
Psittacosaurus fossil and approximately 15 Hadrosaur fossil eggs, knowing that
said wildlife were taken, possessed, transported and sold in violation of the
laws of the People's Republic of China. all in violation of Title
16 United States Code. Sections 3372(a)(2)(A) and 3373(d)(l)(B) [the
Lacey Act].

The CPIA, which is relied on by Count 1 in the charging
document, is the federal statute that implements the 1970 UNESCO
Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import,
Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. While the 1970 UNESCO
Convention’s definition of "cultural property" includes "objects
of palaeontological interest," the CPIA itself only applies to
archaeological and ethnological objects. Palaeontolological material--like dinosaur
fossils--are not archaeological or ethnological objects by definition. And
while the U.S. has signed a bilateral agreement with
China that restricts the import of designated Chinese archaeological and
ethnological artifacts across America's borders, that agreement does not
prohibit dinosaur fossils.

Count 2 relies on the Lacey Act, a federal law designed to protect wildlife and other natural resources. Under the terms of the statute, it is
illegal to import or sell designated wildlife that is taken, possessed, or sold
in violation of any law, treaty or regulation of the United States. But are
dinosaur fossils wildlife? While the statutory definition of "wildlife" includes a dead wild animal or an egg, would either a dinosaur fossil or
dinosaur eggs actually be considered "wildlife"?

The defendant's arrest is explained by the allegations
contained in the criminal complaint:

On or about February l0, 2015, in Tucson in the District of
Arizona, agents of the Department of Homeland Security acting in an undercover
capacity walked through the display area at [a gem and mineral show] .... Agents spoke with Mr. Yang about an
item displayed and advertised as a Psittacosaurus Fossil. Mr. Yang stated the
fossil was 100 to 130 million years old and from the province Henan and was
"dug up" in central China
approximately 200-300 kilometers south of Mongolia. Mr. Yang stated the
price of the Psittacosaurus Fossil was $15,000.00 (United States Currency) and
was not negotiable because of the quality of the fossil. Agents heard Mr.
Yang speak with another
customer regarding egg fossils adjacent to the Psittacosaurus fossil.
Mr. Yang identified the eggs as Chinese dinosaur egg fossils and told
the agents they were Hadrosaur
Eggs, a "duck billed" dinosaur in China. A sign on the dinosaur egg fossils
display box stated "$450.00" for each egg.

On or about February 10, 2015, agents posing as shoppers ...
again spoke with Mr. Yang about the Psittacosaurus fossil .... Mr. Yang stated
that he illegally removed the fossils from China, put the fossils in containers
with stone carvings, shipped them to the United States and didn't disclose that
fossils were in the containers to US Customs and Border Protection, only paying
tax on the stone carvings.

When asked, Mr. Yang said that the exportation of the
Psittacosaurus fossil and the Hadrosaur Eggs were in violation of Chinese law.
Mr. Yang stated this was only a violation of the laws of China, not US. Mr.
Yang stated he has no documents for any of the fossils. Agents asked for
permission to photograph the fossils, and Mr. Yang agreed.

The pictures were later sent to a Subject Matter Expert
(SME) who, based on the photographs taken by the agents confirmed the fossils
are a Psittacosaurus fossil and Hadrosaur Eggs and were indigenous to certain
regions of China. The SME stated that these fossils are of high scientific
value. A review of the law of the Peoples Republic of China prohibits the sale
of specially protected fossils to foreigners or foreign organizations.

On or about February 14, 2015 an agent acting in an
undercover (UC) capacity entered the Arctic Products Inc. display area posing
as a shopper. The UC agent started the conversation with Mr. Yang about the
Hadrosaur Eggs that were on display and inquired as to how many they would be
able to purchase for five-thousand dollars (USD-$5000.00). Mr. Yang stated that
the Hadrosaur Eggs are from China, that they were very rare and that he used to
have a lot, but may not be able to get them anymore. Mr. Yang stated that he
already sold one (1) Hadrosaur Egg for four hundred fifty (USD-$450.00) but
stated he would sell thirteen (13) Hadrosaur Eggs at a discounted rate for
five-thousand dollars (USD-$5000.00) to the UC agent.

The UC agent then inquired about the Psittacosaurus fossil.... Mr. Yang explained to the UC agent
that the Psittacosaurus fossil was approximately 130-100 millions years old and
it was for sale for fifteen thousand dollars (USD-$15,000). Mr. Yang stated
that all the stuff was from China. Mr. Yang stated that he has had the
Psittacosaurus fossil for a few years and that it was from the North-Eastern
part of China. When asked how he got the fossils out of China, Mr. Yang stated
the fossils are put in containers with the stone carvings and "we do not
declare, we declare it as stone."

An arrest is not a finding of guilt; it is simply a process
that initiates a criminal court proceeding. The prosecution bears the burden to
prove that a defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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